where have you stayed in Vienna?
 

Hi.. well, i'm just starting my planning for a trip to Prague end of Sept. and want to spend 2 or 3 days in Vienna. We'll train there but have no idea where to stay. Looking on the hotel sites.. but i would really like some first hand reco's. I am a very relaxed traveler and not looking for anything extravagant. under $200US. Thanks!

Calla, have stayed twice at the Admiral Hotel behind the Museum Quarter. It is right off Mariahilferstrasse near the Ringstrasse, so there are shops and restaurants nearby as well as transportation. It's a very clean hotel with good size rooms and bathrooms. And the price is quite reasonable for Vienna I believe.

www.admiral.co.at

Pension Pertschey. Great location.

We stayed at Pension Suzanne in November 2006, very basic but clean. Can't beat the location - 1 block from Staatsoper and Hotel Sacher. We walked everywhere!
http://www.pension-suzanne.at/index.htm

Thank you ! I'm checking them out. I appreciate your quick responses.

Also try Pension Nossek, moderately priced, includes breakfast and located right on the Graben.

www.pension-nossek.at

An inexpensive night out is "standing room" tickets to the Opera House (two years ago it was only 2 euros/ticket). We went every night, sometimes only stayed for half of the performance, but such a treat and less than the price of a piece of Sacher's chocolate torte!

We stayed at the Marriott. Good location.

I stayed at the Ibis Hotel by the Big Ferris Wheel, but I would not do it again. Too far from everything else!

I just to warn about the Sache Torte: it is overated! Don't waste your money on it, it is too dry, you will need tons of milk to wash it down...

We second the recommendation of the Pension Pertschy. We spent a week during Christmas there 2 years ago and it was great. Wonderful location, nice staff, good breakfasts, nice rooms, we would definitely stay there again. Their website is
www.pertschy.com

Originally our room was on the main street but after a night or two we asked about availabiity of an inside room, much quieter.

Enjoy your visit.
Susan

Two places. Hotel Carlton Opera slightly south east of the central city. Good hotel, fabulous breakfast, and the rooms are airconditioned. The bathroom had a full tiled shower that was enclosed.

Der Altwiernhof is a surprisingly good hotel with a top level restaurant attached. It is not air conditioned, which can make a difference in warm weather.

Given the weakness of the dollar, finding a decent room for two under €80 is not easy.

It's been a while, but we liked the Kaiserin Elizabeth a lot - very central, right on the main pedestrian route, a block or so from St. Stephens, shopping all around. Very nice room with great beds, good bathroom. Check it out and see what more recent guests are saying.

i just heard back from Pension Pertschy..(quick! and pleasant) but at $250USD per night, i cant do it. thank you for so much good info.. i'll keep looking.

Pertschy's website lists double rooms from 133 to 167 Euros, so I think you could get it for $200 or less.

Have stayed twice at the Kaiserhof, love it!

I did a quick search on www.hotels.de to see which hotels were available on Sept. 28 (you didn't give specific dates, so I just picked one for the end of the month) in your price range. A lot of the favorites--Kaiserin Elisabeth, Pertschy, etc.--didn't come up. Perhaps their less expensive doubles are already booked.
Of the hotels with availability in your budget that I have experience with (either I stayed there, friends have, or I've checked them out while in Vienna for possible future stays), these were the best of the bunch:
NH Hotel Wien, just of Mariahilfestrasse, no atmosphere to speak of, but perfectly ok, and I like the location, having stayed around the corner this past March. 117 €
InterCity Hotel Wien. Again, Mariahilfestrasse, in this case up by the Westbahnhof. A friend stays there every year. Again, no atmosphere to write home about, but the rooms are comfortable enough and ok--decor is kind of bland, Ikea style. Good location for catching the u-bahn or trams or a train from Westbahnhof. 126€.
Hotel Am Schubertring. Actually, I don't have experience with this hotel, but it's been recommended here by other Fodorites. A good location and a little more "oldy worldy". 147€.

Slightly over budget is the Sofitel Vienna, where I have stayed several times. It's comfortable, full-service, has AC (in case you get an early fall heat wave), although it's what I consider a low end Sofitel, not up to the standards of the other Sofitels I've stayed in. 161 €.

However, if you opt to Priceline (not a bad idea in your case), the Sofitel is one of the most common 4* Priceline results and people often can PL rooms there for about $100 to $140. So perhaps try that.

There are also several Ibis and Mercure hotels available in your price range, but I'm not familiar with them.

Hmmm... thanks! i heard back from Pension Suzanne - 145Euro. Here are my questions --

JoeTro, i'm wondering why you say i could get Pension Pertschy for under $200 when they told me 184Euro.

and BTike, am i likely to get better prices on Priceline than directly through the Pension themselves? I have never booked rooms through Priceline, but always directly. Am i missing something good here?

i'm going to keep looking around.. but right now Pension Suzanne looks very nice and just within budget.

Thanks again for taking the time! k

If you've found a place you think you'll like and it's in your price range, take it. I don't know if that Pension even participates in PL and with PL there are no guarantees as to what you'll get.
We don't PL because we usually travel with our cocker and we'd run the risk of getting a hotel that doesn't take pets.

We stayed at Pertschy a few years ago for under $140 per night, although that was in March so the prices were lower. Still, the price they quoted you is pretty high. I wonder if something is going on during the time that you will be there that is causing prices to be higher?

Tracy

Hi calla -

You might check out the Christina, which is owned by the Pertschy people, but is less expensive. The hotel wasn't opulent, but it was very pleasant and the staff were good. The best part of it was the location just behind Schwedenplatz. Quiet street, two minutes from the subway and the Ringstrasse streetcar line, and ten munutes from St. Stephen's.

We also stayed at Pension Suzanne. The location is great, the breakfast is good & plentiful and we had an enormous bathtub.

We were there in May 2005 and it was unseasonably hot (90+ deg F) and our room did not have A/C. That was our only problem.

Otherwise, we had a lovely stay.